2023 Mooting Round-Up

That's a wrap on the 2023 mooting season! It was a good year for our UCalgary Law teams, and we're proud of everyone who represented us on local, national and international stages this year!

BLG Trial Competition

January 31 & February 2
Calgary

The BLG Trial Competition is organized by SLA and hosted by Borden Ladner Gervais LLP each year and takes place over two evenings in late January/early February. The first evening, held at the Faculty of Law, is a criminal trial moot. The second evening is held at the offices of BLG and is a civil law trial moot. Each team participates in both the criminal and civil trial moots over the two evenings. This year there  were 24 teams that signed up to participate and most participants were 1L students. The trial moots are judged by volunteers from Calgary’s Bench and Bar.

The BLG Trial Moot provides an opportunity for law students to develop their trial advocacy skills of opening statements, direct examination, cross-examination and final argument. There is no research that is required as the fact scenarios and relevant law is provided to the participants. This way, participants can focus on developing and practicing their advocacy skills. SLA is happy to be able to offer this experiential learning opportunity in conjunction with our sponsor law firm, BLG

Thank you to BLG for their ongoing sponsorship of the Trial Competition, especially Locklyn Price and Kim Ho.

First Place

Maheen Arif (1L) and Hani Lee (1L)

Second Place - Tie

Lauren Glasser (1L) and Sara Houston (1L)

Sabrina Sandhu (3L) and Randann Sargent (3L)

Julius Alexander Isaac Moot

February 2-3
Toronto

The 2023 competition explored anti-Black racism and sentencing. It was a fictional appeal of the Ontario Court of Appeal’s ruling in R v Morris2 to the Diversity High Court of Canada (DHCC).

Our respondent team (Sophie Qin and Matthew Gray) made it to the finals this year against Osgoode, and came in 3rd place overall! They were also the Runners Up as the best Moot Team.

Matt Gray, 2L
Semhar Abraha, 2L
Jillian Tomimoto, 2L
Sophie Qin, 3L
Coach: Arman Chak

Western Canada Trial MacIntyre Cup

February 9 - 11
Hosted by UCalgary Law

This year’s case dealt with a question of first-degree murder charge against a 14 yr old accused being tried as an adult. The alleged murder involved a car bomb, family feud and killing of unintended victim.

Shridhar Patel, 3L
Paige Thomas, 2L
Haiger Ye, 2L
Philip Vandekerkhove, 3L
Coach: Ben Leung, JD’14

The Laskin Moot

February 23 - 25
Dalhousie University, Halifax

The 2023 competition tackled the following problem: Should - and, in fact, can - this court review the decision to withdraw the writs and cancel the pending federal election? Although this question may appear simple on its face, it raises complex considerations about the very role of the courts and the limits on judicial power. Put another way, at the heart of this case is whether some questions simply cannot be decided by the court.

Isabelle Reynolds, 2L
Alicia Adlington, 3L
Philomena Chenne, 3L
Mirabelle Harris-Eze, 3L
Coach: Melissa Burkett

National Family Law Negotiation Competition

March 2 - 4
Osgoode Hall, Toronto

This moot is a great opportunity for students interested in family law to practice their negotiation skills. The UCalgary Law team did well, with Alexa Phipps placing third in the individual awards, and the team of Sarah Bickerton and Alexa Phipps placing sixth overall. 

Aaron Brown, 3L (Team 1)
Sarah Bickerton, 3L (Team 1)
Danika Szucs, 3L (Team 2)
Alexa Phipps, 3L (Team 2)
Coach: Jonathan Griffith

32^nd Annual Davies Corporate/Securities Law Moot

March 10 - 11
Toronto

This year’s problem, loosely based on the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Wong v Pretium Resources, explored a secondary market liability misrepresentation claim arising out of an alleged failure to disclose material information.

Hasti Pourriahi, 2L
Derek Hetherington, 3L
Mikail Osman, 3L
Harpar Gill, 3L
Derek Graham, 3L
Coach: John Lawless

Bowman National Tax Moot

March 3 – 4
Toronto

The case on appeal was Canada v. Collins Family Trust, 2022 SCC 26. The problem centered around whether the equitable remedy of rescission is available to cure unintended tax consequences. Four issues were on appeal:

1. What the proper test for equitable rescission is
2. Whether rescission applies to unintended tax consequences
3. Whether the trusts in this case meet the test for rescission
4. Whether there any alternative remedies that preclude rescission being granted

Jack Goranson, 3L
Andreas Peters, 3L
Connor Heuver, 3L
Daniel Stetham, 3L
Arba Radaj, 3L
Coach: Trent Blanchette, JD'17

Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Circle

March 10 – 11
University of Victoria

Randann Sargent, 3L
Andre Matheusik, 3L
Jason Lee, 3L
Josiah Allison, 3L
Coach: David Laidlaw, LLM'13

The Kawaskimhon moot is non-adversarial, so there are no winners and losers, it functions more like a negotiation. Josiah Allison and Andre Matheusik's negotiating table was fortunate enough to be able to reach an agreement. 

The Alberta Court of Appeal Moot Competition

March 17 - 18
Hosted by UCalgary Law

The Court of Appeal Competition features cases in Civil, Constitutional and Criminal cases. 

• Civil Law Appeal Moot: Guillevin International Co v Barry, 2022 ABCA 144
• Criminal Law Appeal Moot: R v Tessier, 2022 SCC 35
• Constitutional Law Appeal Moot: Reference re Impact Assessment Act, 2022 ABCA 165

This year's visiting judiciary included:

The visiting Judiciary:

• The Hon. P. Rowbotham, Court of Appeal of Alberta
• The Hon. J. Antonio, Court of Appeal of Alberta
• The Hon. B. McDonald, Court of Appeal of Alberta
• The Hon. A.D. Grosse, Court of King’s Bench of Alberta
• The Hon. N. Devlin, Court of King’s Bench of Alberta
• The Hon. R.W. Armstrong, Court of King’s Bench of Alberta
• The Hon. J.B. Hawkes, Provincial Court of Alberta

The UCalgary Law teams:

Civil:

• Jasmine Koonar (2L) and Dylan Sigurdson (2L); Coached by Chadwick Newcombe, LLB'00

Constitutional:

• Josie Britton (2L) and Jonah Secreti (2L); Coached by Robert Moyse, LLB'10

Criminal: 

• Micaylee Rodyniuk (2L) and Connor Kopczynski (2L); Coached by Michael Bates, LLB'02

The Bastarache Moot

March 17 - 19
Ottawa

The Bastarache Moot assembled teams from the Universities of Calgary, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, Ottawa, and Moncton. It was launched with a breakfast on Friday, gathering members of the French-speaking legal community, and Justice O’Bonsawin was the keynote speaker.

The combined CCLF USaskatchewan/UCalgary team did great. The UCalgary side (representing the respondents) was comprised of Brooke Mantei (3L), Isabelle Reynolds (3L) and Alexandra LaPlante (3L). They pleaded exceptionally well during their two rounds on Friday and Saturday, in their second language no less, and addressed a complex language rights issue relating to the scope of section 23 of the Charter and the unwritten principle of the protection of minorities.

The Bennett Jones Health Law Moot

March 18
Edmonton

This is an annual competition between the Faculties of Law at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary. UCalgary was victorious in the 2023 competition, and third-year student Sabrina Sandhu took home the prize for top oralist. 

Sabrina Sandhu, 3L
Erwin De Guzman, 2L
Wen Zhao, 2L
Bailey Collins, 2L
Coaches: Andrea Stempien, Adam Williams, JD'20, and Jason Arnason, JD'20

McGillivray Moot Shield Competition

March 23 (Finals)
UCalgary 

Appeal from the decision in Jones v Smith, [2017] B.C.J. No. XYZ (BC CA), which reversed the trial decision in Jones v Smith, [2016] B.C.J. No. ABC (BC SC).

Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Western Canada has been granted on the following two issues:

1. Whether the defendants are liable under the doctrine of Scienter for the injuries to the plaintiff? Did the Court of Appeal err in an overly restrictive interpretation of "propensity"?
2. Whether the defendants are liable in negligence or under the Occupiers Liability Act for the injuries to the plaintiff? Did the Court of Appeal err in holding that it was not reasonably foreseeable that the dog would cause harm under negligence or occupier's liability?

The Appellants 

• Nana Asante (1L)
• Céline Sénécal (1L)

The Respondents

• Lena Clayton (1L)
• Megan Goldie (1L)

The Bench

• Mr. Douglas A. McGillivray, KC, Burnett Duckworth & Palmer, LLP
• The Honourable Justice J. Sidnell, Court of King’s Bench of Alberta
• Mr. Stephen Davis, K.C., Justice of the Peace, Alberta Courts

Organized and Sponsored by Carbert Waite

First Place:  Lena Clayton & Megan Goldie

Second Place:  Nana Asante & Céline Sénécal

Top 5 Oralists – from the Preliminary Rounds:

1. Lena Clayton (1L)
2. Hardeep Malhi (1L)
3. Kyrra Rauch (1L) 
4. Nana Asante (1L)
5. Alec Fader (1L) & Megan Goldie (1L)

Adam F. Fanaki Competition

March 24 - 25
Toronto

The 2023 Problem: The Commissioner of Competition appealed a decision of the Competition Tribunal to temporarily halt a marketing campaign by a smartphone manufacturer, Pear Inc., under claims of false or misleading advertising within the Competition Act.

Appellants:

• Jordan Pau (2L)
• Justin Lentz (3L)

Respondents:

• Richard Kelba (2L)
• Heather Cattell (3L)

Coach: Kaeleigh Kuzma

Awards

• Runner-Up Best Appellant Factum: Jordan Pau and Justin Lentz
• Runner-Up Best Team Respondent: Richard Kelba and Heather Cattell
• Runner-Up Best Oralist Respondent: Richard Kelba
• Winner Best Oralist Respondent: Heather Cattell

Morrison LLP Family Law Moot

March 25
University of Alberta

2023 was the inaugural competition between UCalgary and UAlberta. The Morrison LLP Family Law Moot specifically focuses on family and divorce litigation, with the hopes it will help prepare law students for the reality of practicing as a family and divorce lawyer by giving them practice in making court submissions.

The 2023 competition focused on a Family Law Special Chambers application where the issues were parenting and child support.

UCalgary was the top team and had the top oralist in Jaclyn Finestone!

• Jaclyn Finestone (3L)
• Aaron Brown (3L)
• Coach: Melissa Oakley

The Willem C. Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot 

March 31 – April 6
Vienna

The 2023 case involved two companies that had their businesses in different states and the issue was around the purchase and supply of drones for the surveillance and subsequent collection of data related to natural resources.

The team mooted in pre-moots throughout the semester and then also mooted four times during the general rounds in Vienna. 

Saliha Haq, 3L
Sarah Hanks, 3L
Sonia Kalburgi, 3L
Zheng-Yi Ong, 3L
Coach: Julie Hopkins